#40- Stray Animals-
One of the sadder things about Kazakhstan, but something that I have come to accept as a fact of life, is the vast amount of stray animals on the street. Dogs and cats can be seen roaming neighborhoods, most often in summer but also in winter. There are more strays in villages and small towns than in cities, and sometimes villages round up the stray animals, kill them, and turn their fur into clothing items. During my first 3 months in Kazakhstan, my heart would break for all of these strays. I'm not saying that I've been completely hardened, for I still leave food when I can, but the situation is so futile that I've stopped expending energy worrying about them. Otherwise, I would be worrying all the time. However, there are a lot of other people who leave food for the strays, and during the winter, they find warm refuge under the apartment buildings (there are holes in the foundation). For better or worse, this is an inescapable reality in this country.
#39- Menu Issues-
Eating at a café in Kazakhstan is often an adventure. Not only is the food, service, and atmosphere much different than what we would find in the states, the menu itself also poses some interesting issues. For example, each table is only given 1 menu. This fact does not change no matter how many people are sitting at the table. I've been in a group of two, a group of 6, and even a group of 12 and we had to basically beg for more than one menu. The idea that every person sitting at the table would have their own menu is wildly absurd here. Moreover, the menu is not the be all and end all of food that is available. The menu is more like a...suggestion...or a goal of what could be available in a Utopian world. On numerous occasions I have pointed to something on the menu only to be told that "we are out of carrots" or "we don't have any flour right now". Once, I was told at a pancake place (bleenee), that there were no pancakes. Sometimes I wonder why they even bother giving me a menu. They would do better just to tell me what they can cook for me.
#38- Long Commutes-
Kazakhstan is a huge country. Before arriving, I really had no idea how big Kazakhstan was, for it seems to me like I just entirely skipped over the region in all of my studies. But if you take a little looksy at the map, you too will see that Kazakhstan is massive, with great expanses separating all major cities. Distance is not a deterrent to travel between these cities, but unlike America, however, taking an airplane is not the most common method of traversing the entire country from end to end. No, no, no, people take the train or they take the bus. These journeys can range from 4 hours to 46 hours (imagine, you're still not there yet after 45 hours of moving), and no matter the distance, there is ALWAYS someone who waited too long, or is too poor, to buy a proper ticket. What to do, what to do? In Kazakhstan, this person can still jump on. They just have to stand the entire way, or sleep on the floor/baggage shelf of the train as the case may be. Once, I was on a 17-hour overnight bus from Shymkent to Almaty and there were at least 15 people standing in the aisle. All night long. Yes, for a straight 17 hours they stood, sometimes sleeping standing up, but standing all the same. As undesirable as this may be in any culture, it is quite commonplace nevertheless. If it were me, I would just as soon stay home.
#37- "Girl"-
When I was in high school, Paul Wall had made a really popular rap song that repetitively utilized the word "girl" when talking to a female. "Girl, why you do this to me?" or "Girl, when you coming home?" I though it was derogatory because in America, you do not address someone as "girl" unless you are sorority sisters, begging to be slapped, or...well...that's about it I think. In Kazakhstan, you ONLY address people as "girl". You could be flagging down a waitress, asking someone to move aside on the bus, or buying something at the bazaar. In every case, all day long, you will address females as "girl" or "girls", and everyone else will address you as "girl" (unless, of course, you are a man and then you're called "young person"). I suppose I've gotten used to it, because I can holler a forceful "girl" at a café and the poor waitress comes running, and more than that, every time someone calls "girl" on the street, I instinctively turn around thinking it could be me they're yelling at. If I let a "girl" slip in America I think I'll be somewhat mortified. But there's a high probability that it will happen.
#36- English Lessons-
I understand that the majority of Americans in Kazakhstan are here to teach English. Sure, there are some businessmen here, but they are relegated to Almaty and Astana and hardly interact with the common people. Thus, I totally get why "American" is associated with "English lessons". However, the thing I don't get is why every single person in this country seems to be under the impression that they can get free, private English lessons from an American and that it will be easy to actually learn the language. Every PCV in Kazakhstan has been approached at least 5 times by someone wanting private English lessons, and this person does not even have to be an acquaintance! I've been on the bus and someone overheard me speaking English, came up to me and asked if I'm American, and then asked me for my phone number so I can teach them English. And every time I'm like "I'm sorry, I don't teach English", which just prompts a whole lot of confusion as to what, dear lord, I would be doing in KZ otherwise. It doesn't matter WHAT I'm doing in Kazakhstan because for all intensive purposes, the thing I am best at is teaching English for free to everyone and their mom. And it never fails that when I decline such a fabulous opportunity, the other party is inevitably a bit put-off. Yes, they're actually offended that I'm not going to teach them English in my abundance of free time. For this reason, I carry around a little schedule of our English clubs at the American Corner, which I relay to them as a "second best alternative" in which they can still learn English from Americans. They're usually still confused, and then I walk away.
One of the sadder things about Kazakhstan, but something that I have come to accept as a fact of life, is the vast amount of stray animals on the street. Dogs and cats can be seen roaming neighborhoods, most often in summer but also in winter. There are more strays in villages and small towns than in cities, and sometimes villages round up the stray animals, kill them, and turn their fur into clothing items. During my first 3 months in Kazakhstan, my heart would break for all of these strays. I'm not saying that I've been completely hardened, for I still leave food when I can, but the situation is so futile that I've stopped expending energy worrying about them. Otherwise, I would be worrying all the time. However, there are a lot of other people who leave food for the strays, and during the winter, they find warm refuge under the apartment buildings (there are holes in the foundation). For better or worse, this is an inescapable reality in this country.
#39- Menu Issues-
Eating at a café in Kazakhstan is often an adventure. Not only is the food, service, and atmosphere much different than what we would find in the states, the menu itself also poses some interesting issues. For example, each table is only given 1 menu. This fact does not change no matter how many people are sitting at the table. I've been in a group of two, a group of 6, and even a group of 12 and we had to basically beg for more than one menu. The idea that every person sitting at the table would have their own menu is wildly absurd here. Moreover, the menu is not the be all and end all of food that is available. The menu is more like a...suggestion...or a goal of what could be available in a Utopian world. On numerous occasions I have pointed to something on the menu only to be told that "we are out of carrots" or "we don't have any flour right now". Once, I was told at a pancake place (bleenee), that there were no pancakes. Sometimes I wonder why they even bother giving me a menu. They would do better just to tell me what they can cook for me.
#38- Long Commutes-
Kazakhstan is a huge country. Before arriving, I really had no idea how big Kazakhstan was, for it seems to me like I just entirely skipped over the region in all of my studies. But if you take a little looksy at the map, you too will see that Kazakhstan is massive, with great expanses separating all major cities. Distance is not a deterrent to travel between these cities, but unlike America, however, taking an airplane is not the most common method of traversing the entire country from end to end. No, no, no, people take the train or they take the bus. These journeys can range from 4 hours to 46 hours (imagine, you're still not there yet after 45 hours of moving), and no matter the distance, there is ALWAYS someone who waited too long, or is too poor, to buy a proper ticket. What to do, what to do? In Kazakhstan, this person can still jump on. They just have to stand the entire way, or sleep on the floor/baggage shelf of the train as the case may be. Once, I was on a 17-hour overnight bus from Shymkent to Almaty and there were at least 15 people standing in the aisle. All night long. Yes, for a straight 17 hours they stood, sometimes sleeping standing up, but standing all the same. As undesirable as this may be in any culture, it is quite commonplace nevertheless. If it were me, I would just as soon stay home.
#37- "Girl"-
When I was in high school, Paul Wall had made a really popular rap song that repetitively utilized the word "girl" when talking to a female. "Girl, why you do this to me?" or "Girl, when you coming home?" I though it was derogatory because in America, you do not address someone as "girl" unless you are sorority sisters, begging to be slapped, or...well...that's about it I think. In Kazakhstan, you ONLY address people as "girl". You could be flagging down a waitress, asking someone to move aside on the bus, or buying something at the bazaar. In every case, all day long, you will address females as "girl" or "girls", and everyone else will address you as "girl" (unless, of course, you are a man and then you're called "young person"). I suppose I've gotten used to it, because I can holler a forceful "girl" at a café and the poor waitress comes running, and more than that, every time someone calls "girl" on the street, I instinctively turn around thinking it could be me they're yelling at. If I let a "girl" slip in America I think I'll be somewhat mortified. But there's a high probability that it will happen.
#36- English Lessons-
I understand that the majority of Americans in Kazakhstan are here to teach English. Sure, there are some businessmen here, but they are relegated to Almaty and Astana and hardly interact with the common people. Thus, I totally get why "American" is associated with "English lessons". However, the thing I don't get is why every single person in this country seems to be under the impression that they can get free, private English lessons from an American and that it will be easy to actually learn the language. Every PCV in Kazakhstan has been approached at least 5 times by someone wanting private English lessons, and this person does not even have to be an acquaintance! I've been on the bus and someone overheard me speaking English, came up to me and asked if I'm American, and then asked me for my phone number so I can teach them English. And every time I'm like "I'm sorry, I don't teach English", which just prompts a whole lot of confusion as to what, dear lord, I would be doing in KZ otherwise. It doesn't matter WHAT I'm doing in Kazakhstan because for all intensive purposes, the thing I am best at is teaching English for free to everyone and their mom. And it never fails that when I decline such a fabulous opportunity, the other party is inevitably a bit put-off. Yes, they're actually offended that I'm not going to teach them English in my abundance of free time. For this reason, I carry around a little schedule of our English clubs at the American Corner, which I relay to them as a "second best alternative" in which they can still learn English from Americans. They're usually still confused, and then I walk away.
Re #40, check out a proposed Utah law: http://news.change.org/stories/utah-bill-declares-open-season-on-feral-animals
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